CIF-SDS basketball and soccer playoff brackets revealed

SAN DIEGO — With the basketball and soccer regular seasons in the books, the CIFSDS mothership did its playoff tabulation thing, revealing the postseason brackets for both sports at noon on Saturday.

The Valley’s winter playoff representation is down marginally from 2019 with 20 local teams — six for boys basketball, five for girls basketball, four for boys soccer and four for girls soccer — in the hunt for sectional crowns. Last year, 22 teams went dancing.

By and large, the teams that made the field were expected to do so. There was one notable omission: The Central Union boys’ soccer team.

The Spartans — who finished the season tied with the Calexico Bulldogs atop the Imperial Valley League, with a record of 9- 1- 2 — were widely believed ( especially by CUHS coaches and administrators) to have secured the IVL’s automatic playoff bid thanks to their second- half of the season win over the Bulldogs ( 2- 0 on Jan. 28).

However the Bulldogs disputed this tiebreaker, citing league bylaws that prescribe a different method for resolving deadlocks, one which favors Calexico, whose view of the matter was ultimately upheld in a canvass of IVL- member principals.

Without the benefit of the automatic bid the Spartans were ranked too low to make the SDS Division II field.

The Spartan camp considers this whole series of events to be rather irregular, and they are expected to make it a major point of discussion at Tuesday’s athletic directors meeting in Pine Valley.

When and where Valley teams will play in round one of the postseason is detailed below, separated by sport and division.

Listed times for any matchup are subject to change at the discretion of the two schools’ athletic departments.

Boys’ basketball

Division III Brawley ( 8) vs. Ramona ( 9), Feb. 18 at 7 p. m.

Division IV Calexico ( 1) vs. Victory Christian ( 16), Feb. 18 at 7 p. m.

Central ( 5) vs. Escondido Charter ( 12), Feb. 18 at 7 p. m.

Calipatria ( 8) vs. Clairemont ( 9), Feb. 18 at 7 p. m. Division V Holtville ( 6) vs. Gompers Prep ( 11), Feb. 18 at 7 p. m.

Vincent Memorial ( 8) vs. Health Sciences ( 9), Feb. 18 at 7 p. m.

Girls’ basketball

Division I Imperial ( 16) at Mt. Miguel ( 1), Feb. 19 at 7 p. m.

Division II Calexico ( 8) vs. Francis Parker ( 9), Feb. 19 at 7 p. m. Division III Holtville ( 4) vs. Santana ( 13), Feb. 19 at 7 p. m.

Division IV Southwest ( 2) vs. Granite Hills ( 15), Feb. 19 at 7 p. m.

Brawley ( 7) vs. Monte Vista ( 10), Feb. 19 at 7 p. m.

Division V Vincent Memorial ( 2) has a bye

Boys’ soccer

Division II Calexico ( 12) vs. Preuss ( 13), Feb. 17 at 5 p. m.

Division IV Brawley ( 7) at San Diego Jewish Academy ( 10), Feb. 18 at 5 p. m.

Vincent Memorial ( 9) vs. Santa Fe Christian ( 8), Feb. 18 at 5 p. m. Division V Calipatria ( 12) vs. King Chavez ( 13), Feb. 17 at 5 p. m.

Girls’ soccer

Division II Central ( 13) vs. Francis Parker ( 12), Feb. 17 at 5 p. m. Division IV Calexico ( 12) at High Tech NC ( 13), Feb. 17 at 5 p. m.

Imperial ( 11) at Classical ( 6), Feb. 19 at 5 p. m.

Division V Holtville ( 8) vs. Morse ( 9), Feb. 19 at 5 p. m.